Infamy: The Shocking Story of the Japanese American Internment in World War II Paperback – April 12, 2016

I read Richard Reeves’s latest book, Infamy: the Shocking Story of the Japanese-American Internment in World War II,” over the Memorial Day weekend. I’ve read several of his books and, until now, had considered “President Nixon: Alone in the White House” as his masterpiece. In my inexpert opinion, it’s the best book ever written on that troubled President. Infamy is a masterpiece that should rank alongside works like “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” for clearly articulating Americans inhumanity to their fellow Americans. Reeves has have connected those dots like none before him, although giving generous credit to those who tried.The World War II internment of 120,000 Japanese-Americans in isolated concentration camps remains the greatest stain on President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s otherwise stellar record. Meticulously researched, Infamy documents the post-Pearl Harbor panic and paranoia that led to Executive Order 9066, and there are villains aplenty, including California Attorney General Earl Warren (subsequently Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme court), Deputy Secretary of War John McCloy (subsequently Chairman of the World Bank) and even cartoonist Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss). In some ways, it was not unlike the anti-Muslim anger following 9/11, but carried to an unconstitutional extreme. McCloy’s quote “if it is a question of the safety of the country and the Constitution…why the Constitution is just a piece of paper to me.”By putting a human face on the tragedy, Reeves has produced the most readable account of this travesty of justice. Whether it was Seattle shopkeepers forced to sell their businesses for pennies on the dollar, San Pedro fishermen forced to abandon their boats, or Oregon farmers forced to leave their homes and farms behind, “military necessity” drove them to imprisonment behind barbed wire and guard towers in concentration camps located in barren deserts and remote swamps.Despite their maltreatment, most internees remained loyal to their adopted country. When finally allowed to enlist in the Army in January 1943, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fought fiercely in the European Theater of Operations, becoming the most decorated unit per capita of the Second World War. Reeves tells the amazing story of their rescue of “The Lost Battalion,” a Texas National Guard unit that had been cut off and surrounded by German troops. Reeves weaves in the stories of Daniel Inouye, Medal of Honor winner and long-term Senator from Hawaii, and Norman Mineta, Congressman and cabinet member in both Democratic and Republican administrations.The injustice that Caucasian Americans perpetrated on 120,000 fellow citizens, placing them in concentration camps and stealing their possessions, is one of those sins that cries out to heaven for vengeance. This quote from Chapter 9 says it all: “When Private Shiro Kashino…first saw the row of huts behind barbed wire at Dachau, he said, ‘This is exactly what they had built for us in Idaho’.” Unfortunately, the racial paranoia depicted in Infamy continues to prevail today. Infamy is a tale that celebrates the ability of the human spirit to ultimately transcend adversity. It’s a compelling read!

This book adds to my growing knowledge about people and how they survived (here and abroad) during WWII. It’s a dry read early into it—mostly factual dates and news stories in the early days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Hoping the book develops even better life for those Americans who were interned in camps on our American soil.

Very disturbing and very moving. This is a true and cautionary part of American history from which we must learn. Wartime hysteria mixed with racial prejudice formed a wicked brew which unduly abrogated the constitutional rights of many natural born Americans of Japanese descent after the attack on Pearl Harbor.My parents were some of those who were imprisoned in "internment" camps surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by soldiers in towers with machine guns pointing at them.They were both born in America.They were American citizens! There was no due process accorded to them and their fellow internees to warrant this unconstitutional imprisonment. How could this happen in America, the Land of the free......? They were interned because their faces looked like that of the enemy in Japan. Throughout the course of WWII and this internment, there was not one documented case of disloyalty or espionage by this group of people.Even so, a good number of the young military age Japanese American male internees volunteered to join the Army after being allowed to do so. They did this to prove their loyalty and commitment to America, and to reclaim the honor of their families. Many of these volunteer soldiers paid for this loyalty with their lives or their limbs. Most of these volunteer soldiers served in the famed 100th/442 Regimental Combat Team, a segregated unit of the Army. These men formed the most decorated unit for its size in the history of the American military.This book also depicts the resiliency, resourcefulness, determination and courage of the internees. Author Richard Reeves has documented a part of American history that was rarely discussed in history class in school, but which needed to be told. America is not perfect. Hopefully, America learns from its mistakes for the good of our future generations.With the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed into law by President Reagan, an acknowledgement was made by the American government that the internment of the approximately 120.000 persons of Japanese descent in America during WWII was fundamentally unjust and based upon "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of political leadership." A formal apology on behalf of the United States was also extended to the internees.Thanks to author Richard Reeves for contributing more knowledge to American history. The United States of America is not perfect. Regardless, it is the greatest and most unique country in the world. It is a privilege to live here. God bless America!

Used hardcover book advertised as being in Very Good condition. I totally agree. Also very good value. Book was well packaged and arrived on schedule.